The Emperor's Promise
by Sigan
Summary: Lelouch has ascended to the rank of Emperor, but a long forgotten promise makes him rethink his decision to proceed with his final move: the Zero Requiem. With Suzaku in tow, Lelouch sets out to fulfill the promise he made, and reunite with old friends before the curtain falls. Will Lelouch the Demon find what he's looking for in his old schoolmates?


As Lelouch stared at his friends, Milly, Shirley, and Rivalz, the gaps between them were filled in by specters of his classmates that were not present, and he remembered why it was he fought. Sure, the world was changing, and it would soon be hurtled head first into chaos by none other than Lelouch himself, but who cared about that? He'd found his purpose once more, a purpose which had been lost ever since Nunnally was announced to be the new Viceroy of Area 11.

"Everyone," Lelouch had proclaimed, "I'll launch fireworks with you again someday. We will… we'll do it together, right here. I promise."

Of course, that was before the F.L.E.I.J.A. Warhead had been let loose upon the Tokyo Settlement. That was before Lelouch had become the Emperor of the most powerful nation in the world, and had worked tirelessly to prepare the Zero Requiem. That was before he'd quashed the Black Knight Rebellion and earned the strangely appropriate title of Lelouch the Demon.

Now that the day of reckoning was fast approaching, and all the details of the Zero Requiem were hammered out, Lelouch found that his promise had nearly been forgotten, and that if he didn't act soon, he would never be able to fulfill it.

" _I'll launch fireworks with you again someday…"_

The words rang through Lelouch like a gong had been struck and he suddenly sat up in his throne, tired and worn after having converted room after room of soldiers into slaves using the power of his Geass. There, hundreds of men and women would pledge their loyalty and lives to him, and submit themselves to his unnatural power. Each time he converted a room full of slaves, he felt his headache grow more and more sophisticated, finally leaving him almost prone as he slid down his throne, his eyes unfocused and his limbs shaky.

Suzaku, the Knight of Zero, had stood by the throne Lelouch was reclined in, and he'd watched with disgust as hundreds of faceless soldiers lost their individual wills, replaced with only one desire: to do the bidding of the Emperor. Now that wasn't the case, the room was empty, save for Suzaku, C.C., and Lelouch, and it seemed the Emperor didn't even have the strength to call for another platoon of soldiers to enslave.

"Suzaku," Lelouch muttered quietly, "I've forgotten about a promise I made. It needs to be dealt with."

The Emperor of Britannia tried to stand, only to fail and fall back onto his throne. Suzaku stepped around, looking down on Lelouch with a rather blank and uncaring face as he struggled to rise. Even as the Knight watched his Emperor, lines of blood began to run from his nostrils and his face grew deathly pale. Suzaku knelt before Lelouch and pulled out a handkerchief with gracious movements, gently dabbing away the blood on his liege's face.

"You overworked your Geass," Suzaku said quietly, noting how Lelouch clawed at the arms of his grand throne so as not to slide onto the floor, "you shouldn't have done so many conversions."

"I require as many subordinates as possible if the Zero Requiem is to come to fruition," Lelouch muttered weakly.

"Have some pizza," C.C. replied, "you'll feel better."

She was laying sideways in a slightly smaller throne next to Lelouch's, happily munching on some PizzaHut as she heard Lelouch groan in disgust.

"I'm not sure I can stomach anything right now," Lelouch admitted, his breathing quick and shallow as he feared the consequences of his Geass.

"You should eat, your highness," Suzaku said, carefully stowing away the soiled handkerchief into a pocket as Lelouch pulled himself back up onto the throne, "you haven't eaten for a couple of days now."

"Can you really blame me," Lelouch said, his red eyes boring into Suzaku's green ones.

It was an odd feeling for Suzaku, because he knew that Lelouch's geass wouldn't work on him anymore, but the appearance it gave Lelouch was far less human than Suzaku would've liked, especially when the former was hunched over and shivering from exhaustion.

"Eat," C.C. said, tossing a half empty pizza box at Suzaku, who caught it and watched C.C. stalk out of the chamber, mumbling about cold pizza.

Suzaku carefully handed Lelouch the pizza box, which he opened and looked into as if it were a ghetto from Area 11. Finally, the Emperor swallowed past his disquiet and grabbed a piece of pizza, tearing away a great hunk and chewing it slowly.

"What was this promise you were talking about, my lord," Suzaku asked stiffly.

"Hmm? Oh, that," Lelouch said thickly through a mouthful of pizza before swallowing and looking rather disgruntled, "I promised that we'd go back to Ashford and light off fireworks with Milly, Rivalz, and… and Shirley."

"As your Knight, I must protest," Suzaku said quickly, "it would be most unwise to-"

"I know, I know, I KNOW," Lelouch yelled, looking furious for a second before pulling out another slice of pizza, "I know it's stupid, a risk I shouldn't take, but I've thought about it and with the right planning and the right tactics, we could make this happen. We could pull everyone together for one last time. Perhaps if we took over the school and cordoned it off…"

"That won't work," Suzaku said, "as soon as people feel the school is in danger, there'll be uprisings and dissent. People are very protective of the future generations, and I don't think it's wise to put children at risk like that. I think our best bet would be an undercover operation. We could go incognito and-"

"Why didn't I think of that," Lelouch asked quietly, "I should've… I should've realized a high profile task would be more complicated to clear. Perhaps the thought of the Zero Requiem is getting to me."

"Well then, allow me to ease your burdens... your highness," Suzaku said, leaning in dangerously close to Lelouch, every pretense of feigned disinterest gone from Suzaku's features and replaced with a volatile anger.

"Either you go through with the Zero Requiem, and you give Nunnally the world she deserves to live in," Suzaku muttered into Lelouch's ear, "or else I'll take your life for myself, in the name of Euphy, and I'll let the world fall into greater chaos."

Lelouch's eyes widened and he turned to look at Suzaku, who had pulled away from the Emperor and was once more looking at him with a straight face, but something in Suzaku's eyes told of the hatred within.

"You would drag this world into chaos to live out your vengeance," Lelouch asked quietly, "you would dare to threaten your Emperor and leave Nunnally alone to-"

"She won't be alone," Suzaku said solemnly, "either way, after you're gone, Nunnally will have me to look after her. I'll protect her as the world dissolves into nothingness. Either that, or you can save the world with the Zero Requiem. The choice is yours, Lelouch, but three things are certain. First off, you will die, secondly, I will protect and care for Nunnally after you're gone, and thirdly, I will be the one to kill you, no one else has more of a right to do so than me."

"An odd thing for my best friend to say," Lelouch said, almost managing to smile.

"Not when you consider how much Euphy meant to me," Suzaku said, leaving Lelouch sitting on the throne, his head still throbbing and his upper lip still smeared with traces of blood.

"Suzaku," Lelouch said, thinking of how odd their relationship was now that they were forced to collaborate for the good of the world.

Soon after, Lelouch retired as well, and as time tends to do when you're young, foolish and dreading the future, it flew right by for Lelouch. Days slipped by ever faster, and before Lelouch knew it, the Zero Requiem would be held the very next day. The plan had been gone over thoroughly, and all the pieces were in place, the only thing left was for the King to be put in check, and then…

Lelouch bolted upright in his large four poster bed, the purple and white drapes matching much of the color scheme in the Area 11 Royal Chambers, in which Lelouch had been residing due to the destruction of the Imperial Capital City of Pendragon. Of course, anyone who would be dead in a matter of hours would suffer from sleep deprivation, and so the Emperor's dreams had turned to nightmares before he'd woken.

Lelouch turned his glowing crimson gaze to his room, seeing nothing and no one in there save for himself and C.C., who was still sleeping, though it seemed she was having dreams of her own. Lelouch couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the woman who was more of a witch. She was immortal, green haired, sly as a cat, and somewhat withdrawn, but when she dreamed…

"What do you mean you're out of pizza…"

She was more human than ever.

Lelouch's smile faded as he once more remembered that he would soon die. It was a strange thought for him, an admittedly narcissistic person, to weigh himself against the entire world, for that would be the reach of his sacrifice later that afternoon.

'Am I ready to die,' he thought as he shifted himself off of the bed slowly to avoid waking C.C., 'am I truly going to end my own life for the sake of the world?'

"No," Lelouch muttered to himself, swinging a fine cape embroidered with jewels about his shoulders, "this isn't for the world, this is for Nunnally. After I've ended the conflict, after I've taken the bitterness of every nation to my grave, she'll be free to live her life. The wars will come to an end, and Nunnally will help Suzaku to build a gentler world from the ashes of its predecessor."

Lelouch left his room, ignored by the guards who knew better than to reprimand their ruler. Before he knew it, the Emperor had arrived at his destination. He smartly rapped upon the sliding metal door and waited for it to be unlocked. The door slid open and revealed Suzaku, who looked like he hadn't been sleeping well either.

"Suzaku, my knight," Lelouch said quietly, "I command you to commence operation SkyFire, immediately."

For a moment, Suzaku looked disbelieving, until he smiled and brought a fist to his heart.

"Yes, your Highness."

Two hours later, the entirety of the Area 11 Consulate was in an uproar, with personnel dashing to and fro, all searching endlessly for not one, but two escaped criminals, along with both the Emperor and the Knight of Zero.

"How could this have happened," an officer hollered at his subordinates, "how could the Emperor go missing? And why can't we locate the Knightmares? Shouldn't they have their IFF signals running? What about the Special Core, can't they get a fixed signal from the Lancelot?"

"No, sir! It would seem that the Emperor and his Knight have taken their Knightmares, as no equipment was destroyed, which would be expected from someone forcing their way into a Knightmare's cockpit. Also, there were no signs of a struggle! Lady C.C. has even confirmed that the Emperor is fine, but how she knows is beyond me!"

And down in the prisons, deep below the Consulate, where a large array of metal catwalks separated cells of thick bulletproof glass, a similar conversation was being had by a warden and a guard.

"I'm so sorry sir, but the Emperor himself came to get her," the guard stammered, wishing he had some sort of proof to back up his story.

"The Emperor's sister I can understand to some extent, but why on earth would he release the Black Knight's Ace Pilot? Is he trying to start an insurrection," the warden raged.

"I'm sorry sir, but when both the Knight of Zero and the Emperor himself came down here I didn't ask their reasoning, I just did as they commanded."

The sky was dark over Ashford Academy when Rivalz's phone went off. He groggily rolled over and grabbed it from its charging stand before looking at the caller I.D., wondering who the hell thought they were so high and mighty that they could call at 2 a.m. When Lelouch's name appeared on the screen, he nearly dropped the phone.

"Lelouch? What the… is this a joke," Rivalz wondered as the ringing continued.

Chances were it was a prank, perhaps Lelouch had lost his phone and someone had picked it up, or maybe the phone company had recycled Lelouch's phone number, but none of those reasons explained why Rivalz would get a call from Lelouch's number at 2 in the morning, it was too coincidental. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Rivalz pressed the answer key and waited for a moment.

"Hello, Rivalz?"

It was a girl's voice, one that he hadn't heard for some time. If it had been the Emperor calling, Rivalz probably would've said some hurtful things to Lelouch for ignoring him during the Council held at the school, but this wasn't Lelouch.

"Rivalz? Hello, are you there?"

"N-Nunnally," Rivalz asked incredulously.

Thirty minutes later, Rivalz was on the stairway, headed up to the roof when he finally alighted and found the doors leading outside slightly ajar. He couldn't help but wish he could wash his motorcycle, as it was always the best way for him to relax and get a clear head. Riding it was also a great way to reduce stress, but he didn't have much time, and Nunnally had made the situation sound serious.

'I can't just _not_ help her,' Rivalz thought, 'even if her brother was a jerk, Nunnally can hide here at Ashford, I can even get a hold of Milly if need be.'

He sighed and pushed open the door slowly to prevent it from creaking before he slipped outside, the light of the settlement dim and faded as it permeated the darkness. There, upon the roof garden, were several people Rivalz knew.

"Milly," he whispered, "Nina, Kallen?"

"Rivalz, you're here too," Milly asked, looking as if she'd simply thrown a robe over her pajamas and driven there from her home off campus.

"Yeah, but-Kallen, Nunnally, you guys are escaped prisoners, aren't you? And Nina, weren't you working for the Empire? Are you betraying the Emperor," Rivalz asked, coming over to the group, who all seemed to be surrounding Nunnally's wheelchair.

"They're not escaped," said another familiar voice, "they are simply on a leave of absence."

"Quite right, they'll be returned to their cells before the sun rises."

The door that lead back down into the school closed with a snap, and from the shadows stepped two figures that made Rivalz clench his jaw.

"Suzaku… Lelouch," Rivalz asked, "is this some kind of set up?"

"Sort of. I knew none of you would come here if I tried to speak with you personally, that's why I had Nunnally lure you here," Lelouch smirked, "and it worked like a charm."

"So now what, are you going to arrest us? If you plan of trying to take any of us in, I'll have no choice but to stop you," Rivalz proclaimed, "Lelouch the Demon can't have my friends!"

The blue haired young man in his pajamas placed himself between the two most powerful men in the entire world, every fiber in his being poised and ready to spring into action. He wasn't as strong as Suzaku and he wasn't as witty as Lelouch, but he knew that if he had too, he could buy his friends enough time to escape. He was a Cardimon after all…

"You've got it all wrong, Rivalz," Lelouch said, turning so that his back was to the schoolboy, "I didn't come here to further the Empire of Britannia. In fact, I didn't even come here as the Emperor. I made a promise to you, Milly, and Shirley. I told you I'd be back to shoot fireworks with you one day, didn't I?"

"After what you've done, do you really think we'd want to be associated with you? You miraculously took over the Empire of Britannia and began a violent conquest to dominate the world, what the hell makes you think we'd wanna shoot of fireworks with someone like you," Rivalz shouted angrily, throwing his cellphone as Lelouch, which was quickly caught by Suzaku, who tossed it up and down like a ball before tossing it back to Rivalz with a knowing smile.

"You wouldn't. In fact, you all probably despise me as much as the rest of the world, but I… I have something important to tell you all. I can't reveal much, but by the end of the day, I will be dead," Lelouch said quietly, turning to smile weakly as those he had once called friends.

"Dead? Big brother, what do you mean? What's going on? Why are you so different from before," Nunnally asked, her eyes wide and filled with tears as she looked at her brother, who now looked less like the Emperor who stole the Damocles Key and more like the elder brother she'd always pictured him to be.

"Judging from the fact that you aren't surprised, I'm guessing you're in on Lelouch's secret," Kallen said to Suzaku, who simply looked tired, but pleased to see so many of his old friends, all the same.

"Yes, and as his Knight, I can guarantee that what he's saying is true," Suzaku said, "and Lelouch and I… we wanted to see you all before Lelouch has to…."

He left the thought unfinished. Suzaku may have hated Lelouch for what he did to Euphy, he may have hated his antics and the way he always put the results ahead of the means used to gain those results, but Suzaku and Lelouch were still best friends. It was saddening for Suzaku to think that his friend, his brother in all but blood, would be dead later that afternoon, and that was why he'd agreed to stage operation Skyfire: so that Lelouch could fulfill his promise.

"Anyway, I suppose that I'll go first," Lelouch said, pulling out what looked like the detonator for a bomb and pressing the button as everyone flinched, fearing a great explosion. Instead, a variety of fireworks that had been set up all over the campus went off, and lit up the sky with a beautiful display that could be seen almost throughout the entire settlement.

After that, everyone indulged Lelouch, whether they wished to or not, simply for the fact that he was Emperor, and could likely have them assassinated for not doing as he asked. In a corner of the roof there were four large duffle bags filled with a variety of fireworks and a few bottles of fine alcohol, which were quickly broken into as Kallen, Suzaku, Lelouch, Nunnally, Milly, Rivalz and Nina all set off fireworks and watched them burst, forgetting their troubles for a time while they sipped on liquor and reminisced.

"Who's hungry," Lelouch asked, his cheeks touched with color from the drink as he pulled out his phone, "I can order us pizza for free."

It was almost an hour before the Pizza Hut guy arrived, during which time everyone had more than enough to drink, even Nunnally. The delivery man found himself in an odd situation when the Emperor of Britannia drunkenly asked for the charge to be applied to the Imperial Revenue Service, which collected taxes and distributed refunds as necessary. In the end, Lelouch simply popped out a contact and ordered the man to leave and forget about the tab, the Emperor, and the Knight of Zero.

At 4:30 am, all of them were sitting together, everyone smiling and pleasantly buzzed from the drink as they embraced one another, still watching fireworks fly, even though they'd stopped lighting them.

"Thank you, everyone," Lelouch slurred, "this was the very best time of my life, and I'll keep you in my heart, when-hic-when I'm put into check later today."

"Do you always have to make lame chess jokes," Milly asked.

"Hey, Lelouch," Kallen asked suddenly, turning her head so that she and Lelouch were face to face, and so close that they could feel each other's body heat.

"Yeah, Kallen," Lelouch asked quietly.

"Why are you dying? Do you have some terminal illness, or…"

"No. And I can't spoil the plans," Lelouch said, Suzaku listening intently from where he sat between Rivalz and Nunnally, "but I can tell you this: I plan on making the world a gentler place, and taking the hatred of all mankind with me to the grave."

"Lelouch," Suzaku said warningly.

"Don't worry, Suzaku, that's all I'm saying about it. I swear," Lelouch said, suddenly standing as the last of the fireworks burst and fade away, the purple flares being a signal that it would soon be light out and that Lelouch needed to return to the Consulate.

"I'm sorry everyone," Lelouch said, standing and walking to the edge of the rooftop, not facing his closest friends as he swung a hand across his face and gently removed his contacts, revealing two red eyes as he stared out at the campus.

Tears ran from his eyes as he steeled himself for what he was about to do to the friends. This would be it, the very last time they would see him as their friend and know that he was planning on sacrificing himself for the greater good. He turned and his glowing red eyes made his friends and family twitch with fear, Suzaku closing his eyes the instant before Lelouch gave the order.

"Forget about everything that has happened tonight… oh, and don't forget to go to the parade before the execution, it'll be a celebration to die for."

Lelouch's geass, which was, at one point, only potent enough to work on somebody once, now took hold of everyone with their eyes open, forming bright crimson rings around the irises of their eyes as they obeyed the Emperor.

"It seems your theory was right," Suzaku said, looking at the way Kallen and Nunnally reacted, their faces slack and their eyes dim, "your Geass was now surpassed the single usage limit. I'd bet you can command people to do anything you want an infinite number of times."

"This would've been useful from the start," Lelouch said, replacing the contacts, "but then I would've likely slipped up by saying something stupid. Goodness knows I couldn't bear it if Euphy's situation repeated itself."

Suzaku said nothing as Rivalz, Milly, and Nina all got up and left, leaving Kallen, Nunnally, Suzaku, and Lelouch on the roof. With a few words into his cell phone, Lelouch soon had a stealth VTOL land and take them directly to where they'd hidden their Knightmares. Kallen and Nunnally were shuttled off to the Consulate prisons, but not before Lelouch and Suzaku had hugged and kissed the girl in the wheelchair, whose eyes were red ringed and whose face was blank.

Lelouch climbed into the cockpit of the Shinkiro while Suzaku slid into the Lancelot. Together, they actived their energy wing float systems and took off, flying together for one last time.

"Hey, Lelouch," Suzaku asked, speaking through a private channel.

"Yeah, Suzaku," Lelouch replied, swooping down towards the water, his mind fuzzy and thick with alcohol consumption.

"You seem to be in a pretty good mood for a man who'll be dead in a few hours," Suzaku said rather tastelessly, "how are you so calm? I think I'd be terrified."

"I decided that this was necessary, especially after that ultimatum you gave me yesterday," Lelouch laughed "and also…"

"Also what," Suzaku asked, piloting the Lancelot around the Shinkiro with apparent ease, seeing as he was the better pilot, and his Knightmare was much smaller, faster, and lighter.

"Well, I figured that if nothing else, I owe Euphy an apology… and Shirley," Lelouch said, wiping at his wet eyes, "and the sooner I die, the sooner I can tell them both how I really felt."

"You really think you'll be able to, considering that you've already met and destroyed God," Suzaku asked.

"You're mistaken, I didn't destroy god, I destroyed the sword of Akasha by using my Geass on the collective human conscious. Also, do you know what the primary religion is, Suzaku?"

"Christianity?"

"Correct, and if the human conscious we met was any indication, than we can safely assume that the most popular religion has taken form somewhere therein," Lelouch reasoned, "and as such, Euphy and Shirley are still within reach for me."

"If Heaven exists, so does Hell," Suzaku sighed, "are you sure you'll be able to go to Heaven?"

"No, I've committed far too much evil to be allowed in Heaven… I just need a few minutes with Shirley and Euphy, just a few minutes to explain myself and my goals so that they too can blame me for their deaths."

"You know what, Lelouch? I'm actually kinda jealous," Suzaku said with a dry laugh, "I've wanted to die ever since you used your Geass on me… now I can't."

"About that, Suzaku," Lelouch burst out suddenly, "with my new power I may be able to overwrite old orders and remove the old Geass. If you like, before I go I can-"

"No," Suzaku said, "thank you, but I need it so that I can remain here and protect Nunnally. Your Geass compels me to fight harder than I thought possible."

"Well then, I suppose I'll redouble your Geass to make you protect Nunnally just as fiercely," Lelouch sighed, "she'll need it."

"That is an excellent idea, my lord."

"Suzaku," Lelouch muttered with weak grin, "please, just call me by my name. I'm not the Emperor until I return to the Consulate. For now, I'm your best friend from eight years ago."

"Huh… fine then," Suzaku said, smiling as he accepted Lelouch's proposal.

The next day passed quickly, with everyone in attendance of the spectacular death of Lelouch the Demon. His family, his friends, and his loved ones had all assembled to see him die. The looks on their faces were priceless, and Lelouch couldn't help but wish he could see some of them before he died. He slid down the ramp in front of his throne, and came to a bloody, wheezing halt before Nunnally, whose sobbing and hysterics were lost upon his own deaf ears. He never wanted his sister to feel such pain, in fact, he'd done this to prevent the world from swallowing her whole. Was it worth the tears that fell onto his chest as his sister's big, beautiful, violet eyes leaked profusely? Was world peace worth watching her brother die? For all Lelouch's smarts, he'd miscalculated. He'd left out how powerful an effect Nunnally's tears would have upon him.

'Take good care of her, Suzaku,' Lelouch thought, looking up at the Zero suit he'd once worn to command the Black Knights. He looked and saw Kallen as well, screaming as she fought against her bonds. Even at the end, her beauty was beyond words, and her loyalty was so steadfast it made Lelouch sad to think he'd never be able to try and win her over. She was a fine woman, and she deserved a man far better than him.

'This is it,' Lelouch thought, 'the end of an era. Hate and bigotry shall die with me and peace will be wrought from the ashes of the old world… yes, I'll destroy… the world…. And create it… anew.'

And with that final thought, Lelouch the Demon, the Emperor of Britannia, faded from this world…. Or did he?

 **Hey all, I'm not dead, really, I've just been terribly busy. Anyway, I wrote this after watching an episode of Code Geass and thinking 'Gee, it must suck to die. The one thing I'd want would be some more time with my best friends.' Boom, wish granted. Also, I was shocked and excited to hear about Code Geass's new upcoming season, Lelouch of the Resurrection. It's so weird, first I end up rewatching the series in the anniversary of its airing, and then I write a fanfic and they announce a third season. That's also why I left the ending open, with an ominous 'Or did he?' Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this little fic. ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL LELOUCH!**


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